Ole Miss Athletics Department

The Ole Miss softball stadium

Sports events are a big part of campus life at the University of Mississippi – better known, of course, as Ole Miss – in Oxford, Mississippi.  A full schedule of football, basketball, and baseball games and other sporting events fill the school calendar season after season, as do concerts and a variety of other university gatherings.

Continuous use of multiple Ole Miss playing fields and venues for a variety of games or other events means ever-changing power needs, says Assistant Director of Facilities Nick Canyock. A Detroit area native who attended Central Michigan University, Canyock joined Ole Miss in the fall of 2016.

Chase Dumphord; Nick Canyock; Travis

have a full schedule of games at our playing fields, and our power needs change depending on the event and the time of year,” he comments. “For our softball games, we sometimes need heaters early in the season. For football, we have been known to use cooling benches- up to six per sideline – which requires multiple generators. Our football skycams also need generators to power them. Other events can pop up at the last minute and we’ll need things very quickly.  So there are a lot of occasions where we need rental power equipment from Thompson.”

WellsTravis Wells is the Event Management Coordinator for the University’s Athletic Department.  The Elizabethtown, Kentucky native came to Ole Miss two years ago, after receiving a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration at Western Kentucky University. He reports that a consistent schedule of weekly meetings is utilized to review all upcoming athletics-related events and firm up power generation needs.“Nick and I will review each event, decide what we need and what limitations we need to address, then provide that information to Chase Dumphord. Then he works with Tom Williams at Thompson Power to rent what we need for the event.”

Portable generators from Thompson are used to power the Rebel Grill at Ole Miss games.

Dumphord, a Kentucky native who was a standout football player at Michigan State, is the Ole Miss Athletic Department’s Chief Electrician. After being provided with a list of equipment needs from Canyock and Wells, Dumphord arranges for the rental power equipment and its delivery and supervises the installation of the rental equipment.

mesThis spring, for the first time, Ole Miss hosted the NCAA softball regional tournament. The three-day event drew major crowds – all reserved seating sold out early – and presented major rental equipment needs, says Wells. “Attendance was probably double our typical game attendance, and for the tournament we brought in mobile food stands, grills, and warmers.”

Thompson Power representative Tom Williams

Adds Dumphord, “The generator we rented from Thompson for the regional tournament was really versatile. It has three-phase terminals and single phase receptacles, so we could use it for everything we needed to hook up. And it was much quieter than we would have expected.  Also – and this is important to us – the unit looks good.  It’s aesthetically pleasing, giving the area a professional, quality appearance.”

Cat  3516B generators supply backup power to Ole Miss.

Dumphord says there are multiple reasons he relies on Thompson Power for rental equipment.  “The units are versatile, the rates are competitive, and Thompson gives us quick delivery.  They also provide very professional customer service.”

Ole Miss also relies on Thompson generators to provide backup power in the event TVA needs to divert power.  An on-site generating plant is equipped with ten Cat 3516B generators, which can power the campus in emergency situations.

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